Purpose of this Blog - Resistance

I have been thinking a lot lately about what this site is about and its overall purpose. Over the couple of years I have been writing it I have touched on productivity, prayer, Christian Life, GTD, random recipes, adventure, writing and many more. My posts generally result in prayer and tend to read like devotions but this isn't really the desired function of the site just how I think and what I generally need when I post. So what is the center to the chaos that is 12hourhalfday? Resistance

I get the term Resistance from Stephen Pressfield's book, the War of Art. Pressfield defines resistance as “an energy field radiating from a work-in-potential. It’s a repelling force. It’s negative. Its aim is to shove us away, distract us, prevent us from doing our work.”. I think of resistance as the Devil, the evil in this world that attempts to cut us off from God. Resistance can take on the forms of procrastination, laziness, writers block, depression, anxiety, and many more. It can be the little feeling that makes you turn left when you knew you should have turned right.

The articles on this blog revolve around the resistance in my life, the tools I use to fight it, and the things I flaunt in resistances face. Tools include prayer, devotions, meditation, the Word, exercise, yoga, nutrition, writing, journaling, and many more.

So while this site may come across as chaotic at times, at least now you know what I am fighting against.



My Prayer:


Lord, please help me to stay on purpose and to remember that whenever I am losing to resistance that I always have you to fill my heart and inspire, encourage, and guide me.


Amen

My Purpose - Updated

I live my life prayerfully, mindfully, thankfully, and joyfully, trying my best not to make mistakes, but accepting that I am human and God is the one that is truly in control and he is always good.

I work to document the beauty and meaning in the world around me.

I help to lead to a world where diseases are cured and people work to help their fellow man.

I honor those that have given me love and remember those that I have loved that are gone.

I live a balanced and healthy life style.

Every day I thank God for what I have, what I have done, who I have, and what will happen good and bad.

My Purpose Statement

I live my life prayerfully, mindfully, thankfully, and joyfully, trying my best not to make mistakes and accepting that I am human.
I work to document the beauty and meaning in the world around me. I work to help cure breast cancer and be an inspiration to others. I do my best to honor those that have brought me success and remember those that I have loved that are gone. I work on a balanced and healthy life style and thank God for what I have, what I have done, who I have, and what will happen good and bad.

A Special Request - Please support my friend Tara in The Breast Cancer 3-Day

A Special Request - Please support my friend Tara in The Breast Cancer 3-Day

My amazing friend Tara is raising money to walk in The Breast Cancer 3-day. Just participating in this event requires a daunting amount of fund raising. This is an important cause to me because breast cancer is such a horrid disease that takes many lives and as taken the lives of women close to me. I understand that because of the economic times it is difficult to donate. If you could to see to donate as little as $5 it would be a great help.

Visit this URL - http://tinyurl.com/Tara3day to donate

Please support Tara as she takes an amazing journey in the fight against breast cancer! The Breast Cancer 3-Day is a 60-mile walk over the course of three days. Net proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure and National Philanthropic Trust, funding important breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.Tara will be documenting her entire experience at the below blog:

http://womanwhowalkswithdogs.blogspot.com/.

Here is a link to her blog post on the subject: http://www.tararobinson.com/2009/02/my-big-hairy-audacious-goal-raise-2300-to-fight-breast-cancer.html

Revised Purpose Statement

I live a prayerful life; guided by God to use my free will to love as he loves, be friendly to those around me, doing what I can to help those less fortunate, learn and grow in everything I do, look for opportunities to spread God's word living in the moment past expectations good and bad. I live letting God guide my choices, accepting failure as part of the learning process and rejoicing in those failures.

Working on a purpose statement

One of my daily projects is to brainstorm my purpose statement (A statement to help continually drive and guide my actions and choose my priorities). For the GTD minded this is the 50,000 foot level.

 

My process started with the natural planning model and works it's way to a draft statement:

 05:36 1/12/2009

I am guided by God to use my free will to make healthy choices in activity and diet, be friendly to those around me and be loving, learn continually, and look for opportunities to spread God's word, I live in the moment past expectations good and bad. I live prayfully letting God guide my choices. I accept failure as success in the learning process.

 It is still a work in progress; below is the process reading from most recent to first entry so if you want to get an idea of the process, start from the bottom and end with the entry above.

 11:49:33 Sun, Jan 11, 2009

I am sitting in the lunch area at the orange county swap meet and am pondering my purpose. I have stated some principles and am working on a purpose statement from them.
Here is a good foundation:
I am guided by God
I can add to this:
With the free will given to me by God I choose to make healthy choices in activity and diet, be friendly to those around me, be loving, learn continually, and look for opportunities to spread God's word. I live in the moment past expectations good or bad.

1/6/08 8:26

A life purpose should be based on principles

• What are my principles?


• Do good


• Being nice to people is good


• Be nice to people


• Spread God's word


• Live in the moment


• never stop learning


• act the beginner


• be relaxed


• control your emotions


• Take care of your body


• Live prayfully


• Keep your mind like water


• Keep your commitments to yourself as well as others


• Don't buy anything you won't use and when you use it, use the hell out of it.


• Anything can be learned from a book.

For next time; how do I present these principles as a purpose?

06:29 12/30/2008

I just wrote up a few notes in my "notebook" but it wasn't flowing so now I am typing.

Brainstorming my life purpose

I have a lot of anxiety about this project. Why? Because it is big; this is my life purpose we are talking about.

• What if I eff it up?


• What if I make a mistake here? There is a frase, "my life is ruined" and it never really is but let's say you pick the wrong life purpose then your life really is ruined.


• Ok, slow down and breathe. Let's explore what is causing the anxiety. Worry that you will ruin your life.


• How is my life so far?


• Scale of 1-10 - 10 My life is good, I am working in the job I want and have always wanted and I m with a girlfriend that loves me and I love her That is more then I need so life is good, I have a home with little expense and have a very loving family.

So how can I build on that?

2008

• Iaido


• Taught the class


• Gained back weight lost last year


• Started counseling again


• started blog


• started photography page


• Got new SLR


• Decided Photography is a priority


• Formed a romantic relationship with Sarah


• Sarah moved in


• Went to Texas


• Studied traditional Iaido
  Formed a friendship and mutual mentorship with Tara


• Continued with the GTD study group


• Started checking the checkbook every day on a consistent basis


• Formed a daily checklist


• Signed up Sarah with the Gym


• Got a bus pass

2009

• I am starting a martial arts class next week


• I could get my bike fixed and start riding regularly


• I could start mountain climbing and hiking


• I am continuing to expand my photography gear


• Work on previous vision - Japan, add to it, photographer, student


• Add health goals to vision- How do I see my body in the future?


• Form better eating habits

 

What am I?

A learner, a Christian, a martial artist, a writer, an artist, a photographer, an athlete

17:32 12/28/2008

Life Purpose

What is my life purpose? I am trying to come up with something and looking for guidance in other places but what do I really want from life or more appropriately what does God want for me?

I have already established that it is not arrogance to think about my life purpose because God wants to have a relationship with me and he wants my participation in this.

So what do I love, what do I want, and what does God want for me?

What do I love?

What is love to me, a feeling of intense joy that results from the practice?

I love photography.

A life purpose - Photographing the world

That is a good one but a hard one to dedicate one's life too

Curing Breast cancer

I loved working on the Komen charity and facilitating the charity at work.

To live moment by delicious moment

To act with intention and not habit

What do I want to be able to do?>

I want to be more loving; I want to want to be more loving. I want to enjoy hard work and welcome it with open arms. I want to be independent and not afraid of hard work and hard times.

I want to be free of the crutch of comfort.

I like comfort though; do I really want to be free of it? Do I really want to be free of comfort?

 

 

Sharing my brainstorming for my life's purpose

A life purpose should be based on principles

What are my principles?

Do good
Being nice to people is good
Be nice to people
Spread God's word
Live in the moment
never stop learning
act the beginner
be relaxed
control your emotions
Express your emotions
Take care of your body
Live prayfully
Keep your mind like water
Keep your committments to yourself as well as others
Don't buy anything you won't use and when you use it, use the hell out of it.
Anything can be learned from a book.

Did I forget anything?
For next time? How do I present these principles as a purpose?